A PRIMARY school in East Lothian twice feared it would have to send pupils home due to a lack of teachers this year, it has been revealed.

Darrin Nightingale, East Lothian Council’s head of education, confirmed the headteacher came close to sending home a class on two occasions because they were unable to find a supply teacher to step in to help.

He told the council’s audit and governance committee on Tuesday that the lack of supply teachers willing to step in had led to headteachers and deputy heads having to fill the gap and teach classes, instead of running their schools.

A report to the committee revealed schools across East Lothian were at high risk of seeing lessons suffer and failing leadership because of the shortage.

It said there was a nationwide shortage of supply teachers but Mr Nightingale told the committee that the education authority had a list of 300 supply teachers based in the county.

He revealed the problem was not the lack of teachers available, but the lack of those willing to step into any vacant role.

Councillor Fraser McAllister told the committee he had attended a recent school meeting where concerns had been raised about the shortage of supply teachers to step in when staff were sick, and he said one issue seemed to be wages offered were comparable to “washing a car”.

But Mr Nightingale said: “We have 300 supply teachers on our list and never have 300 requests. The problem is some people only want to work certain days, or with certain years, or at certain schools.

“Pay is not the issue with us, it is people being selective.” He said the council had recently launched an advertising campaign to attract more supply teachers and was offering free training to people who had left the profession and might want to return.

They are also revising their method of contacting supply teachers, when they were required to bring a “more personal touch” back to the system.

Mr Nightingale added that the department was also looking at establishing an operational reserve team of teachers, whose roles would be full-time and permanent.

Councillor Shamin Akhtar, the council’s education and children’s wellbeing spokesperson, urged any registered teachers who wanted to return to the job to contact the council. She said: “There are people with teaching qualifications that they are not currently using. I know of mums, for example, who have taken time out to bring up families, who might now be thinking of how to get back into teaching.

“We are really keen to attract more teachers back into the profession, particularly into the area of supply teaching. Irrespective of the number of hours you are available to work, we would love to hear from you. We know that some of you won’t have taught for a while, so we will be offering training and support.”